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That poor cat. [ Kurt's tone sounds truly stricken, and if Vash turns around he'd be able to catch a very similar look of deep empathy and low-key horror on his crew-mate's face. He shudders, rubbing a hand over his arm as though to assure himself that his fur was still there.

Muttering something about cruel and unusual acts, Kurt shakes his head as though to dismiss the image. ] So, fairly normal news otherwise? Nothing about a plague or.. people with powers? [ He hasn't forgotten the idea he brought up to Looma, no. ]

Oh... Hmm? [Now Vash looks and realises what he said and to whom.] Well, if it makes you feel better the cat didn't seem to mind at all! And it was summer so it probably liked the hair cut the owner said!

[He shakes his head.] Nothing of the sort. There was a minor break out of something that sounded a bit like the flu, but that seems to happen seasonally. I don't think there's anything there.

Mm. [ Kurt sounds as skeptical as his tone, his eyes narrowing suspiciously at Vash. ] Don't let it give you any ideas about me. I will retaliate in kind. [ He punctuates with an irritated lashing of his tail before seeming to calm enough to focus on more important matters (or simply pretending to.)

Kurt hums thoughtfully, hopping down from the wall. A muscle in his jaw twitches slightly when his feet hit ground, even knowing the discomfort is irrational. He's no safer up high than on the ground, and yet. ] What kind of time span have you covered so far?

[Vash puts a hand up in mock surrender.] Don't worry. You have nothing to fear from me. I enjoy a good prank, but that is too far for me.

[He rubs at his eyes to give them a brief breaks from looking at a screen as he thinks over his answer before speaking.] About two years now. [So... much... media...]

Oh, you have limits? [ The question is accompanied by a swift flash of a grin.

The expression fades into surprise at Vash's answer, both his eyebrows raising. ] Man, have you slept at all?

[Vash can't help but chuckle at the accusation.] Yes, even I have limits. A prank is no fun if the person you're pranking is actually hurt by it! At worst I want to be a mild annoyance. Just don't let Chuuya know I have a limit. [His favorite target.]

And yes! Of course I slept! [Yesterday. Or was it the day before? The point is sleep happened at some point!]

Edited 2018-04-18 11:10 (UTC)

Wouldn't dream of it. [Vash's pranks are fun to watch, as long as they aren't directed at him. It reminds him a little of Bobby, though the two men are otherwise different enough that the resemblance isn't painful.

The other man's vehement insistence only makes Kurt squint at him suspiciously.] And when did this sleep happen?

Within a reasonable time. [If they're going by his definition of reasonable.]

Vash, I did not die on that planet just for you to keel over from sleep deprivation, or starvation for that matter.

[Low blow? Absolutely. Does he feel any remorse for it? Absolutely not.]

[Vash angrily slams a fist down onto the table. An outburst that he might not have done if he had enough sleep. He realizes this and takes a moment to collect himself before speaking.]

I'm glad you saved as many people as you did. I am so proud of your bravery to save them. [He wants that to be clear. He doesn't blame Kurt and he likely would have made the very same decision if it had been himself. But he was still angry at himself for failing his crew.] But you should have told me you were in trouble or getting low on power. Maybe together we could have helped each other.

[Kurt actually starts, not having expected an outburst of anger. He'd expected Vash to crumple under the weight of guilt, to hate him afterward for using it against him. He didn't expect him to care.]

You would have died on that planet with us. Bad enough that Remy had to; he's a young man from a kinder world. He's not an innocent by anyone's standards, but.. I'm used to it. I've died before, Vash, and I stopped fearing death long before that. Don't lose any sleep over what happened to me; focus your concern on Remy.

That's no excuse! You shouldn't be use to dying! You don't know what I am and what I can do. [And who's fault is that Mr. Undiagnosed Pathological Liar?!] You don't know that I would have died! But more than that, I trusted you to be honest with me. To tell me that you needed help.

[He could throw back that perhaps together they could have saved Remy, but he doesn't.] But maybe that's my own fault for not seeing it. It may not mean much to you, but for me, in moments like that the title Captain means something. On that planet I failed you as a Captain and as a friend. And I failed Kitty too- [Why was he thinking about her right now? He did fail her, but this was about Kurt. Not her! So he quickly adds to that.] Really, I failed the whole crew. It's something I can't back.

I need you to be honest with me in the future. So that way if you do rush out to be a hero again I can properly gauge the situation and not fail you again. [Two can play this guilt game. He tries to word it so it may sound like Vash still would let Kurt go be a hero. That he just didn't like the lying.

But that in itself is a lie.]

You're right. [Kurt's jaw sets, the stubbornness belying his words.] I don't know what you can do, and so I did in the moment what I would to any flatscan; I sent you away. I sent you, and your passengers back to safety and the crew that needed you!

[His tail lashing behind him, Kurt uncurls one fist only to gesture angrily with it as well.] You're our Captain, and at the time you were our only Captain! The rest of your crew needed you to guide them and help them through the death and mourning. I don't know if you've ever led a group of people before, but I have. And when you have the good of the whole to think of, sometimes it means sacrificing one or two to insure the rest survive. Even if that one is someone you love more than you own life!

[One. Two. Three.] I'm sorry you've been forced to make those sort of choices before. [Something tells Vash that there's a story behind the 'even if that one is someone you love more than you own life' bit.] But you still shouldn't have lied to me.

I would have taken those passengers to safety first. I would not have risked their lives. Their lives were not mine to risk. [He just would have come back for Kurt.]

Gottverdammt, I don't want your pity! [His lips pull back in a snarl, the whiteness of his teeth shining in contrast to the darkness of his fur and the shadows.] I want you to understand that your responsibilities go beyond one or two of your crew members!

Of everyone on the ship at the time, I stood the best chance of getting Remy and myself off the planet alive. I was the only teleport who hadn't run himself into uselessness, because I knew there would be stragglers. [His teeth creak softly as he grinds them together, his voice dropping from a shout to a terse hiss.] Whatever you want to think of me, I left that ship believing I could make it back it Remy. I wouldn't drag him into a deliberate suicide mission.

[Vash relents slightly. He had assumed Kurt had lied about his energy levels because it's something that he himself would have done.] Alright, I understand. I apologize. I didn't mean to make it sound like I thought you took a Remy into a suicide mission. [He had thought that Kurt had gone after Remy.]

Just-- what I'm asking is that in the future you ask for help when you need it. And I'm asking you to trust me as a Captain to make those hard decision when I have to.

[Its closer to a lie than the truth; he'd gone after Remy knowing that trying to teleport to the ship would likely kill him. He'd just thought he'd keel over once they were aboard.

He nods, well, curtly, his jaw working as he mulls over Vash's plea for honesty. The first thing that comes to mind is to tell him about the chest pains, but the fear of not being useful wins out. Instead he looks to the side, his tail lashing.] ...I can't go into churches. Temples, anything religious, but Christian churches are the worst. I can't abide being in them, I'll turn caustic and violent and I'll risk death rather than stay there. So. If we ever have to take shelter in a church.. Might be best I'm unconscious.

Really? [He's a bit surprised. He's not really sure if he's more surprised by the sudden honesty or the fact that Kurt can't go into churches.] I'll be sure to remember it.

[Crap. Now he should share something. It was only fair.] I ah-- I can transform. [Vash takes his handgun out of his holster and sets it down on the table. Finding it doesn't really want to touch it while speaking about this.] If you ever see a bright light coming from this gun? Or me? Get me away from any living creature. At least 100 iles-- ah, miles away. I don't know what would happen if you tried to teleport the amount of power that I generate, so it would likely be better to get people away from me.

I'm not sure if a knock out will work once it starts.

[Kurt doesn't looks surprised by the revelation, his only reaction being a low hum. Sounds a little like the twins on Apocalypse's side, Northstar and Aurora.]

It would be easier, and quicker, for me to move you. [He muses, the spade of his tail tapping against his own calf as he ponders logistics.] What do you turn into and how violent.. Is the transformation, but also you after you've changed? I assume the transformation is explosive.

[Vash's hand rubs over his eyes and down his face. Not exactly comfortable with topic of conversation.]

I-- ah, I don't know if I turn into a thing? I mean, I change physically. But- ah, um. It's hard to explain. [Partly because many times when he's transformed it's usually accompanied by memory loss. There's feathers. He remembers that much.] I stay myself mentally and it will be obvious if something was to happen.

And at the end it's explosive.

[The last part he mutters under his breath as he stop himself from making even a small joke. Even if he shouldn't.]

[Kurt nods slowly as he mulls over the information, his lips curling upward at the muttered joke.] That's what they all say.

[He continues on without a beat, nothing in his expression changing beyond a blink-and-you'll-miss-it impish twinkle in his eye.] So a murderous rampage isn't a concern; good. Does this transformation injure or incapacitate you, during or after?

I'm usually just tired after. And, um, a bit of short term memory loss. At first I have no memory of what happened, just the lingering feeling that the destruction left behind is my fault.

But, eventually, the memories return. [As much as he sometimes wish they wouldn't.]

Short term memory loss is often a result of exhaustion. [In case Vash needed the reassurance that he wasn't crazy..er than he already was.]

Do you know what triggers them? And do you have heart problems? [Because if his teleportation affects Vash the way it does most passengers, the act of teleporting him far enough away could damage a strained heart.]

Heart problems? No. Not that I know of at least.

And luckily the triggers aren't here. I could probably trigger it myself, but I won't. Otherwise it's been, ah, other people that have triggered it. So unless our lovely hosts do something I don't see it being a problem.

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